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| New Mileage and Old System： The 1907 Dispute over Mileage in Four Prefectures of Zhili |
| Wang Hanmei |
| (School of History and Culture， Central China Normal University， Wuhan 430079) |
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Abstract The transformation of the postal and courier system in the late Qing Dynasty was directly related to the interactions between the central and local governments. In 1907， a dispute over expense allocation emerged in the four prefectures of Zhili Province due to the decision to transport Beijing-bounded supplies by railway instead of the traditional postal routes. In the face of this new issue， the central government offered no clear regulations and directives. The provincial government's solution was to distribute the costs evenly based on revised railway mileage， in hope of resolving the issue quickly through administrative orders. However， this equal-distribution plan relied on the traditional system of local financial burden-sharing and took into account of the fiscal conditions with postal-prefecture counties. It thus replicated the logic of an outdated system， failing to satisfy local demands or address systemic flaws. In fact， attempts at compromise and reconciliation under the premise of maintaining the old system cannot resolve fundamental contradictions， as the traditional postal and courier system was embedded within the political， financial， and social structures of the Qing Dynasty. Although seemingly minor， this dispute revealed far-reaching implications， exposing the lag in institutional norms behind the operational realities. It also reflected the dilemmas faced by the late Qing reforms and the transformation of the postal system， highlighting the divergent responses to reform among the central government， provincial authorities， and local entities.
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Received: 25 July 2025
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2025, Vol. 64 
